Enrollment
481
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · South Bend, IN
Career Academy High School
Federal NCES profile for Career Academy High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 180010102521Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 67
📚 AP courses 5
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 22
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Career Academy High School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 98% of Indiana schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Indiana schools.
- #2 of 8
- high schools in South Bend · Resource Index
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 8.2:1
- small classes for Indiana
- 49.2%
- free-lunch eligible
Career Academy High School has class sizes smaller than 98% of Indiana schools. Computed live against every Indiana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Career Academy High School ranks #2 of 8 high schools in South Bend, IN.
School address
District: Career Academy High School · Indiana
NCES ID 180010102521 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
59.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.2:1
vs 15.9:1 Indiana avg
-48% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
49.2%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
-1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Career Academy High School compares with Indiana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Career Academy High School
Career Academy High School is a mid-sized charter high school in South Bend, Indiana, enrolling 481 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.2:1, Career Academy High School is leaner than roughly 98% of Indiana schools and 48% under the state's 15.9:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 49.2% lands close to the Indiana typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 481 students, its enrollment sits close to the Indiana median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,862 scored Indiana schools.
Against 579 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #155.
Its student body is led by White (45%) and African American (35%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 66/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 1 Advanced Placement course.
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 391 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Among South Bend's high schools, it stands alongside Adams High School (1,966 students): Career Academy High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (8.2:1 vs 15.9:1).
Career Academy High School is a single-school charter district, so Career Academy High School operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Career Academy High School compares
Career Academy High School on the metrics families compare, against Indiana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.2:1 | ▼ 48% | 15.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 49.2% | ▼ 1% | 49.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 481 | top 45% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.2:1
Leaner classes than 95% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
481
Bigger than 59% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
49.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 1% below the Indiana average of 49.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.2:1
students per teacher
- 48% below state mean
Top 2% in Indiana - lower ratio than 98% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,574
per pupil, district-wide
- above Indiana avg of $12,079
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.2 FTE
Per 391 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 44.5%
African American 34.5%
Hispanic or Latino 11.0%
Two or More 8.7%
Asian 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 44.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 66.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 66.3, Career Academy High School is more mixed than the Indiana school average of 39.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 1
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Career Academy High School, which includes Career Academy High School.
$12,574
Per student
+4%
vs Indiana
Avg $12,079
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 20.2%
State 72.8%
Federal 7.1%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Similar high schools in South Bend
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Adams High School
Standard public school
1,966 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Riley High School
Standard public school
1,238 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Washington High School
Standard public school
795 students 13.7:1 students per teacher
Clay High School
Standard public school
628 students 9.5:1 students per teacher
Excel Center - South Bend
Standard public school
296 students 29.6:1 students per teacher
Rise Up Academy at Eggleston
Standard public school
149 students 9.3:1 students per teacher
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Indiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~481 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Career Academy High School's federal record.
- Compare Career Academy High School against another school. Compare schools
- Career Academy High School's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Career Academy High School
How many students attend Career Academy High School?
Career Academy High School has 481 students enrolled. It is a high school in South Bend, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Career Academy High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Career Academy High School is 8.2:1, which is 48% lower than the Indiana average of 15.9:1 and 48% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Career Academy High School?
49.2% of students at Career Academy High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Career Academy High School?
The largest demographic group at Career Academy High School is White at 44.5% of enrollment, in South Bend, IN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 66.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Career Academy High School?
Career Academy High School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Career Academy High School rank among high schools in South Bend?
By Resource Investment Index, Career Academy High School ranks #2 of 8 high schools in South Bend, IN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in South Bend on the city page.
Is Career Academy High School a good school?
Career Academy High School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 98% of Indiana schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Indiana schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Career Academy High School?
None; Career Academy High School is a single-school charter district, and Career Academy High School is its only campus.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.